Thursday, January 29, 2009

Good Stuff: Pearl Izumi AmFib lobster mitt

I must have a circulation problem because my fingers and toes seem to get so cold so easily. They'd freeze up in the middle of summer on the equator.

I finally decided to buy a pair of Pearl Izumi's lobster mitts after the "big freeze" we had in December of 2008 around these parts.

I've only worn them a couple of times since getting them because they're so warm. Like the other day: We'd had a little snow and temps were in the mid 30's (F) So I figured that'd be a nice test of the mitts. At the start of the ride, my fingers were fine. Yay. During the second half of my ride -- the part with all the climbing -- my warm fingys started to simmer. Fortunately I was able to cool off a little just before arriving back home, but it was a relief to get the mitts off! Good grief! I suppose these things would be good to 20 degrees (F) or below!

The interior of the mitt is a little different-- the liner separates each finger. Imaging putting on a glove with the index and middle fingers sewn together and the ring and little fingers sewn together. (Live long and prosper...) Now put this into an insulated shell. And call it an oven!

I kind of wish Pearl Izumi hadn't made the lobsters quite so warm. The gloves themselves are a bit puffy and bulky, but handlebar feel wasn't compromised. I think most of the insulation is on the top of the gloves rather than under the palm where it would interfere with one's feel for the bike.

If they made a lighter version of the lobster with half of the insulation and just a wind-block membrane that would be awesome.

These will likely work quite well for just playing around in the snow-- they're supposed to be waterproof.

My only worry is that they work too well for me to get much use out of them. It obviously doesn't get cold enough around here to even challenge the lobsters!

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